The Rational Prepper - Canning Food

One of the best ways to fight inflation (or plan for zombies) is to learn how to can your own food

Pressure canning can be very time consuming and I'm lazy so I decided to buy a Presto Digital Pressure Canner.   It's pretty smart and it won't blow-up your house if you happen to wander off to take care of other projects (or sit on the deck with a cold one).

I used my Presto a few times earlier in the year and then got distracted with summer projects.  Yesterday I decided to put my training-wheels on and give it another go.  Kroger had chuck roast on sale a couple of weeks ago so I bought a couple... about 7 lbs overall.

In my previous attempts I cooked the food and then canned it.  That is double work... this time I decided to "raw-pack" the meat.... in other words it goes into the canner raw.

I partially froze the beef so I could cut it into thin slices.  I decided that I would can half plain and I would marinate the other half in beef broth with Italian spices to see if it might come out like Italian Beef (YUM!).

The digital canner is pretty simple.  There is a bit of babysitting for the first stages (warming the jars and venting once the jars have been filled).  But once venting is done you can just walk away for several hours.

The Presto Canner will can and cool the jars, which takes 3 - 4 hours. Then you take the jars out and wait for at least 12 hours to check the seals. 

I'm a bit disappointed.  In my previous attempts, one or two jars (out of eight) would not be properly sealed.  These 'renegades' go into the refrigerator because they have to be consumed within a few days.

Yesterday's attempt was no different. Two jars did not seal so I'll be eating beef stew this week.

I have followed the instructions.  I wipe the tops of the jars with vinegar after filling to insure there is no grease or food that might compromise the seal.  I put the lids on just finger tight.  I'll just have to keep trying until I get it right.